Seaweed fibre may help fight obesity

Dietary fibre from seaweed could help people to lose weight, UK scientists have claimed.

A team at Newcastle University found that a natural fibre in sea kelp, called alginate, may be effective at stopping the body from absorbing fat.

Their research, which was conducted in the laboratory using an artificial gut, suggests that it can reduce the amount of fat absorbed by around 75 per cent.

Lead researcher Dr Iain Brownlee, who presented the findings at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco, said that the team now plans to see whether the effect can be replicated in people by adding the seaweed fibre to bread.

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'The aim of this study was to put these products to the test and our initial findings are that alginates significantly reduce fat digestion,' he confirmed.

'This suggests that if we can add the natural fibre to products commonly eaten daily - such as bread, biscuits and yoghurts - up to three quarters of the fat contained in that meal could simply pass through the body.'

The discovery could be an important one as England struggles to control levels of obesity.

Latest figures from the NHS Information Centre, published in February 2010, suggest that 24 per cent of men and 25 per cent of women in England were obese in 2008.

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